Turbulent Kisses (6 page)

Chase got to the beach with plenty of time to spare, and kept glancing at his watch, wondering why Pearl didn’t show up. A half hour after their arranged time, there still wasn’t any sign of her and he decided to leave.

She’d stood him up. This wasn’t going anywhere and his jaw tightened as he turned to head up to the house, but then he saw her coming towards him. In a split second, his mood changed from furious to turned on.

The already familiar heat whenever he caught a glimpse of her rushed through his veins, shoving his anger aside. When she was near enough to distinguish her features, he noticed she’d been crying.

His first impulse was to hug her and ask what happened, but he bit his tongue and shoved his hands deeper into the pockets of his soft-shell jacket. By now, he knew her well enough to picture her tight-lipped response to his question. Better to let her offer him information first.

“Hi Pearl. You’re late,” he called to her.

A slight blush settled on her cheeks when she saw him still waiting for her. “You’re still here?”

His heart ached for her and he longed to take her pain away, but the best he could do for the moment was to take her mind off things. He flashed her a provoking grin. “I didn’t forget we had a work out date. Let’s see how fit you are.”

She observed him for a moment and then her expression changed. With a slight nod, she accepted his challenge. And he’d be damned if he didn’t recognize the competitive spark in her eyes.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s go.” She turned around and took off, running full out. Chase ran every single day and assumed it’d be child’s play to keep up with her. Or so he thought.

Far from a leisurely jog, he had to push himself hard to catch up with her. When he finally fell in place beside her, she further increased her tempo.
She definitely is more than a diving coach.

He glanced at her and saw the firm set to her jaw. She was running furiously, as if she were trying to escape something or someone. He knew firsthand how that felt and wondered what had happened this morning to upset her.

After a few miles, she finally slowed down.
Thank god. This woman must have superhero powers
. Both of them were panting, but she wouldn’t allow them to stop and catch their breath. Chase ran silently at her side about half way back to where they’d started, before his curiosity got the better of him.

“So, what happened?”

“Nothing.” She turned her head to him, her eyes spitting mad. Rather than answer his question, she stopped running and dropped to the ground, doing pushups like a maniac.

He couldn’t hold back a smile. If she wanted to work herself into absolute exhaustion, he’d happily assist.

Chase sensed her desperation and understood what she was trying to do. He’d done the same thing many times in his life when he’d needed an outlet for his fear, anger, or whatever other emotion that was too strong to carry around.

He decided the only thing he could do for her at the moment was to be with her and follow suit. Whatever exercise or stretch she did, he imitated.

And it was an amazingly challenging workout. Completed with the woman who had crawled into every crevice of his existence without even trying.

When he offered to do some partner exercises with her, she nodded and he rejoiced at having his hands on her once again. Being so near to her stirred up all his conflicting emotions and he asked again, “What really happened this morning, Pearl?”

She was lying on the sand, pushing with her bent legs against his body weight, and he observed the fury fill her face again. Moments later, she extended her legs with full force, almost knocking him over.

Chase was done watching her silently fight him and used all his strength to push against her feet and bend her legs again. This was about much more than her simply refusing to tell the truth.

“Shit! Get off me!” She continued to curse at him, gritting her teeth as she attempted to push him away.

Chase held tight for a few moments longer, but then let her struggle him off. He twisted his body and fell to the ground beside her, and rolled them over until she was lying on top of him.

When she opened her mouth to berate him, he swooped in and covered her lips with his own. The sexual tension between them exploded and she ravished his mouth with the same force she’d tried to push him away earlier.

They kissed again and again, and he felt her desire rising as she pressed her curves into his hot and aching body.

Until she suddenly stopped, shoving at him frantically, while she rolled off him.

He quickly got back up to his feet, and offered her a hand up, but she shrank away from him. Once to her feet, she shot daggers at him and reminded him with a bone-chilling voice, “No touching. No kissing. I’m out.”

She turned and stomped off, leaving a very confused, very frustrated man behind. She’d shot him down for the second time. This time, rather than getting angry at himself or at her, he let the challenge fuel his determination.

She had wanted that kiss as much as he had. He hadn’t mistaken the signals her body was putting out. He had felt how hot she was for him.
So why had she turned it off like that?

His eyes followed her until she disappeared from view, before he headed home. He wondered if he’d ever see her again and cursed himself for being so stupid. She’d made her rules known, and he should have played by them for a bit longer, rather than trying to overwhelm her with desire.

He’d screwed up. Again.

On his way back he found a couple of beer cans hiding in the bushes and took his frustration out on them, kicking them ahead all the way home. At the very least, it helped get rid of some pent up energy.

The phone rang as he entered the back door and he answered it, “Hello?”

“Hey, Chase. Just the man I was hoping to talk to.”

Chase cradled the phone between ear and shoulder to take off his shoes. “Hey Russell. What’s up?”

“Wondering if you’re free tonight?”

“Sure.”

“Good. I have this patient who is struggling with some decisions. She’s a competitive diver, who’s had a major training injury a while back. Anyway, she needs to make some major decisions about her career, but she doesn’t have anyone to talk this type of thing over with so I invited her to the house for dinner tonight.”

“You what? Since when do you invite patients home?” Chase asked, surprised that his future brother-in-law had done such a thing.

“She’s such a nice girl and it broke my heart to see her so desperate. I wanted to help her out. Anyway, I can give her advice from a doctor’s point of view, but I’m not a professional athlete. So I was hoping maybe you could listen to her problems from your point of view.”

“Sure. If I ever get over the fact that you invited a patient home.” He scrubbed his jawline.

“You know me. I’m not your normal doctor.”

Chase chuckled and agreed to come over later for dinner. It wouldn’t be a hardship at all, because Allison was cooking. And he’d get a chance to hold his nephew again. It was a win-win for him all the way around.

Chase couldn’t wait to get to Russell and Allison’s home. At least playing with his nephew for a while would take his mind off Pearl.

While he crawled on the floor with little Jackson, Russell filled him in a little more about the decision his patient had to make.

He was sitting on the floor of the living room when the doorbell rang. When he turned to inspect the visitor, his eyes widened in shock.
Pearl? What is she doing here?

Russell escorted her into the living room as Chase stumbled to his feet. “Chase, this is Pearl. Pearl, this is my future brother-in-law Chase. He’s a professional kitesurfer and I was hoping he could help give you a different perspective…”

HIs voice trailed off as he realized the two people in front of him were staring at each other as if they’d seen a ghost.

“Do you know each other?”

“Yes.” Pearl pressed out her answer, the paleness in her face intensifying.

“Yeah, we know each other,” Chase said, offering no other explanation.

The tension was palpable and even Russell seemed to feel awkward, because he quickly changed the subject before he hurried out of the room and into the kitchen. “Well, Allison just put the rolls in the oven and dinner will be ready to eat as soon as they come out. Why don’t you two have a seat and I’ll go check on how long that will be.”

Chase wanted to follow him and hide somewhere, but unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. Pearl slowly made her way into the room, carefully avoiding eye contact with him.

His nephew was on all fours, trying to get the crawling thing down and Chase noticed how she used the little man as a welcome distraction from having to deal with him.

She kneeled down and said, “Hey there, cutie.”

“This is the nephew I told you about,” he offered, trying to dispel the awkwardness of her arrival.

“He’s almost got it. Don’t you?” Pearl cooed to the baby, not even looking in Chase’s direction.

Russell came back in and announced it was time to eat. Chase waited until Pearl left the living room, and then swooped his nephew up and put him in his mother’s arms.

“Thanks, Chase. Pearl, I’m so glad you could join us this evening,” Allison offered warmly.

“Thanks for having me on such short notice.”

The meal was wonderful, as was everything Allison cooked and Chase almost forgot why he was here, and why Pearl was here. The shock still sat deep, but as time passed, he was actually thankful for the coincidence. At least they were in the same room again.

Pearl complimented Allison for her cooking and both men nodded their approval. Russell smiled from ear to ear as if Pearl had complimented him and not his fiancé. Chase noticed an uncomfortable sensation of – envy? – creep up his spine at the obvious love his sister and Russell had for each other. It confused the heck out of him. He wasn’t made for living monogamous. At least he’d thought so until now.

When Allison brought out cupcakes for dessert, Pearl once again praised her for her delicious cooking. “I’ve always admired people who can cook.”

“You don’t like to cook?” Allison asked while feeding the baby mashed food.

“It’s not that. I’m just not good at it. I mean, I can cook pasta and pour a jar of spaghetti sauce over it, but that’s about it.”

Soon dinner was finished and Russell suggested they all retire to the living room and discuss Pearl’s future. Chase saw the color drain from her face, but then she seemed to stiffen her spine and prepare for the worst.

He listened quietly as Russell and Pearl discussed first her knee and then her scar.

“But I want to compete. Or at least try to. If I go ahead with the treatment for the scar, that won’t be possible. I’m a diver. I can’t stay out of the water for days on end.”

Chase suddenly got a clear picture of the little things that had been bugging him about her. The limp. Not wanting him to touch her thigh and changing her mind in the last second about getting down and naked with him.

“Chase, what would you do if you were in Pearl’s situation?” Russell asked, bringing him into the conversation.

He could feel her eyes on him and gave her an encouraging smile. “I’d want to compete. There’s no way I’d want to sit out a year. I’d probably lose my sponsors, and my skills would deteriorate. It would be awfully hard to come back the next year.”

Pearl’s face relaxed, and she even sent him a small smile for reinforcing her point of view.

This small smile was enough to make his brain go to mush and open his mouth before he could have second thoughts. “I’d be happy to work out with you while I’m in Sandy Beach. I know what it takes to come back from an injury.”

“I’d like that.” Her voice had lost the sad undertone and sounded almost enthusiastic.

Chase ignored the warning glare Russell was sending him, instead keeping his focus on the beautiful woman sitting across from him. “Great.”

Pearl turned to Russell, visibly excited. “I’m going to wait for the scar treatment until after the season is over.”

“Are you sure?” he asked her with a worried glance.

“I’m positive. Thank you so much for inviting me over here tonight. It really did help to talk things out. Chase, I’ll see you at the beach tomorrow at eight a.m.?”

Chase nodded, excitement rushing through his veins. “You can count on it.”

Pearl excused herself and when Chase went to follow her, Russell grabbed his arm, holding him back. “Not so fast.”

He sighed and shrugged his arm free. “What? You asked for my opinion, and I gave it. There’s no way I would let a little scar keep me from competing.”

“It’s not just the scar and, trust me, it’s not little.”

“I don’t care how big it is. She wants to compete and getting her mind wrapped around the training is half the battle.”

Russell’s eyebrows knitted together and he sent him a dark stare. “Chase, I’m warning you. Stay away from her. She’s had a major blow with the injury and now the stress of trying to come back up to competition levels. And she’s too nice a person to become another one of your playmates. Understood?”

Chase glared at the man who was getting ready to marry his sister. He balled his hand into a fist and lowered his voice. “Don’t you worry about my playmates. Pearl’s a big girl. If she wants to play, that’s up to her.”

“Stay away from her.”

“Or what?” Chase demanded, squaring off against Russell.

Allison came rushing into the foyer, putting herself physically between the two men. “Hey boys! Dial back the testosterone. I’m sure my Chase wouldn’t set out to intentionally break Pearls’ heart. Would you?”

She forged ahead before he could answer. “And Russell, I know you’re worried about her because you’re a good doctor and that’s what good doctor’s do. But you two shouldn’t be fighting about something like this.”

She kissed Russell on the lips and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Chase?”

Chase growled at his sister, but nodded. “Fine, I won’t set out to intentionally break her heart. Happy?”

“Very.” Allison gave him a grin before she continued, “I like her. She’s different than your usual girls.”

Chase groaned. “She’s not my girl.”

He excused himself, taking the long way back to his parents’ house and trying to figure out why everyone wanted to keep him away from Pearl. Including her.

He wished they could be privy to the set of rules she’d already put on herself and their interaction. Then they wouldn’t be so worried.

No touching. No kissing.

And now she even had his sister and future brother-in-law warning him off her.
Since when did my love life become public interest?